3G GPS Question

[lpdude]

From the apple website:

But if you’re inside — without a clear line of sight to a GPS satellite — iPhone finds you via Wi-Fi. If you’re not in range of a Wi-Fi hot spot, iPhone finds you using cellular towers.

So does this mean that if it cant access GPS, the iPhone will use the cell towers to pinpoint your location and nothing else? Just like the current iPhone? That would be bad, I have found that feature terribly inaccurate. Also, when it says "without a clear line of sight", does that mean it wont work in my car? do I have to hold it up to the window or something? I know this is probably a stupid question, but I have never had a GPS before.

[rockmyplimsoul]

If the device can't get a lock on the minimum number of satellites to determine your location, it sounds like "yes" it will revert to using cellular. Most GPS devices will work in the car, but some need to be near a window for a good satellite lock. It depends on many, many things -- the surrounding terrain, the gain of the device's antenna, the GPS chipset used, etc. How good the 3G's GPS works in a car won't be known until Friday ...

[Dim]

I doubt it will work as well as a dedicated GPS unit, since the antenna will be much smaller in a cellphone.

[jhollington]

So does this mean that if it cant access GPS, the iPhone will use the cell towers to pinpoint your location and nothing else? Just like the current iPhone? That would be bad, I have found that feature terribly inaccurate.
Yes, that's exactly what they're saying.

However, while that feature can be terribly inaccurate, depending on where you are, it's not so bad when you consider that the alternative is NO location data.